The area round Hotel & SPA Kocierz presents a wealth of interesting places to visit and see. Please find below a small selection of the delights to sample:

Żywiec Brewery Museum

The museum was opened on the 150th anniversary of the Brewery in Żywiec. It is located in old maturing cellars and its 18 rooms, which together add up to an area of over 1.6 thousand metres square, contain hundreds of exhibits depicting the 150 year-old history of the Brewery.  The brewery cellars, among many other interesting items, show all the ingredients needed to produce beer and other exhibits which bring the old days the back to life – mainly depicting the years from the turn of the XIX and XX century. 

The visitors to the Brewery can get to know the history of the Żywiec beer producer, walk along the replica of a 19th century street, and take a peek into a Galician tavern or a Warsaw Respiracja Żywiecka, which was famous before the II WW. Żywiec Brewery Museum is one of the biggest and most modern museums of this type in Poland and also in Europe.

The family home of John Paul II

The exhibition at the family home of John Paul II illustrates and celebrates the life of Karol Wojtyła in Poland, up to the moment when he left his country and was chosen to become the bishop of Rome.
The rooms in which Karol Wojtyła was born and lived right up to the year 1938, and the next door kitchen, contain a collection of items and furniture taken to Cracow after he left Wadowice. The glass cases contain documents (originals and copies) and different items which used to belong to Karol Wojtyła as well as handmade notes and works issued before 16.X.1978.
A visit to the family home of John Paul II is a journey in the footsteps of the Polish Pope.

Auschwitz Birkenau Museum

The visitors can see some areas and most of the structures of the former camps Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-II Birkenau. Some of the buildings are not open to the visitors (mainly the blocks reserved for the Museum administration and its departments).

The Sułkowski’s Castle in Bielsko-Biała

The castle is the oldest and the biggest historic building in Bielsko-Biała, located in the eastern part of the Old Town. Its name comes from the family name of its last owners – the Sułkowski princes. Presently the castle houses a Museum, which was established at the beginning of the XX century.

The oldest parts of the castle come from the 16th century and in the later years the castle was gradually extended and altered. It was built as a town castle, which was immediately incorporated into the fortification system of the town Bielsko – it also formed the strongest point in the fortifications. For many centuries, the castle was serving the function of a border control, at first guarding the borders between the Cieszyn and Oświęcim princedoms, then from the middle of the 15th century the Polish and Czech borders, and from 1526 - thePolish and Austrian borders. The protective role of the castle was getting weaker from the end of the 16-th century, and the castle was becoming a nobleman’s residence. The current look of the building comes from the time of its last great refurbishment in the second half of the 19th century, which completely changed its old look.

Porąbka-Żar Power Plant

Porąbka-Żar Power Plant is the second largest pumped-storage power plant in Poland, opened in 1979.

The power plant uses the lake Jezioro Międzybrodzkie as a lower dammed reservoir, while the dam is located in Porąbka. The upper reservoir (completely artificial) was built on the top of the Żar mountain. The power plant itself (drain adits, transport and accessory conduits, as well as the engine chamber) is located in the hollowed out mountain side. The water level of the Jezioro Międzybrodzkie is 318 m above the sea level and the water level of the upper reservoir at 750 m above the sea level. The power plant is open to visitors.

Jezioro Żywieckie

A beautiful water reservoir near Żywiec, located in Kotlina Żywiecka between Beskid Mały and Beskid Żywiecki, with a size of 1000 ha (length 8 km, width 2 km, depth 20 m, height 337 m above sea level), which was created in 1966.

This reservoir is a paradise not only for fishermen, but also for water sports enthusiasts – there are many marinas and water sports clubs there.

Miniature Park in Inwałd

The Miniature Park contains models of the most famous buildings from all over the world. During a visit there, you can see structures like: the Acropolis, Coliseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Statue of Liberty, the Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben , Arc de Triomphe, the Sphinx and the White House. All the miniatures were created on a 1:25 scale.

Dinolandia

Dinolandia is an amusement park in Inwałd. The park has are over 50 dinosaurs, pterosaurs, ichthyosaurus and other prehistoric creatures, of all shapes and sizes. It is the only collection of this type in Poland, and it was shipped to Poland from the United States. Dinolandia also has two mini-golf courses, a pétanque field and a climbing wall. The youngest guests can also enter the Mysterious Cave, while the small adventure seekers can discover a T-rex skeleton on the beach.